So we just finished round 2 of finals in Core 1, taking Economics yesterday and Finance today. And now begins the waiting game.

The waiting game is something we have played all of our lives and probably the worst part of any process. In high school, we sent out applications in November and most of the time had to wait 4 months or so to hear from a school. For most people grad school was the same – when I saw the chance to do the Done-In-A-Day program at Baylor I jumped at the opportunity. Those 24 hours of anticipation were brutal but at least it was over. Now that we are in the program we wait for two things. Grades and Jobs.

I am all for taking short answer and essay tests – I have never been a huge fan of scantrons because they only allow multiple choice and true false – not always the best way to test. Although all you have to do with a scantron is put it in a machine and you have a grade. With our tests being primarily essay and short answer/problem based, we now face the waiting game. I think the hardest part is the amount of time we put into the classes and studying for the finals and then having to wait sometimes a week or two before a professor can get to grading them all. Once our class ends, they start with another core and have a great deal to do so it doesn’t allow for really quick turnaround. While it should be easy enough to say – “I won’t worry, I did fine, I’ll just focus on my other classes”, we all know that isn’t the case. This weekend and next week will bring the waiting game for grades from two classes for all of us.

The job waiting game might be more stressful. It is hard to gauge after an interview how it went. The amygdala is a part of our brain that plays a large part in emotions, specifically fear. It has a lot to do with us worrying and thinking that we did something wrong or not well enough. (click here for more info). Turning the amygdala off is harder than you might think. If you figure it out, let me know. Anyways, that part of the brain is definitely active right after an interview and until you hear something from the company. This is where I am at now and mine has been going nuts the past week. The internships and jobs we apply for and hopefully get will decide the next phase of our life after business school – so the worrying is normal. The hard part is to remember that we prepared for these interviews with mock interviews and company research. I am definitely a hypocrite because as I type this I am still worrying that I messed something up with one of mine but that is all part of the waiting game.

Luckily my past few waiting games have been victories: I was accepted to Baylor, I passed IMS, I did well in the first 5 weeks – here’s to hoping that the next week brings equally as good news to all of us.